Economic Evaluation of Wind Power Development in Iran Considering the Effect of Energy Price Liberalization Policy

In this paper, we study the effects of energy price liberalization policies on the development of wind power usage in Iran. The economics of energy production from wind and gas power plants are compared. The Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) is used as an index to compare the plants’ cost of electricity production. LCOE is a well-known index to measure the economics of a plant once all the factors such as cost of air pollutants and exchange rates are to be considered. We show that by removing subsidies from conventional fuels in Iran, wind power plants are completely cost effective. Due to the opportunity cost of gasoline, power generation from wind can provide the ability to export gasoline. The benefit increases by designing and constructing of infrastructures required to develop the technology inside the country. It is worth mentioning that due to changes in exchange rates, policies should be directed towards developing the wind turbine technology inside the country which in turn provides job opportunities.